KEY POINTS:
First it was players. Then it was referees. Now it's coaches. Every aspect of New Zealand rugby has been exposed this year as lacking depth.
Both Auckland and North Harbour are looking for head coaches and there is a distinctly short, short-list of candidates. There is also going
to be a little tension between the two as the talent pool is not deep. The classic 'hands off, we saw him first' riposte is bound to get a whirl.
These are important jobs - particularly the Auckland position which puts someone in charge of a squad that will provide anything between 20 and 30 Super 14 players in any year.
These are the sort of jobs where there should be a long list of names in the frame. But there isn't.
Harbour have made the smart move of advertising their job first. Auckland announced in July they would be opening up the post at the end of the season following Pat Lam's elevation to the Blues.
Caretaker coach Shane Howarth said last week that he was unlikely to apply to stay on.
He's joining Lam as an assistant at the Blues and said: "I don't think I would be able to do either role justice if I tried to do both."
So everyone knows the Auckland job is going to be thrown open. Harbour don't want interested parties to hold back from applying over the bridge as they wait to see what happens at Auckland.
Departing coach Wayne Pivac would like to see someone who has served a club rugby apprenticeship take over. That was the path he followed and he feels it is still the best way to progress.
But Pivac has just finished his 10th year in provincial rugby. His apprenticeship was in a very different landscape and the gap now between club and provincial rugby is a lot bigger.
It would be a risk to promote a coach of one of the Harbour clubs into the top job. Pivac's assistants Milan Yelavich and Shane King will no doubt apply and make strong cases.
Possibly former All Black prop Craig Dowd, already in a development role at Harbour, might fancy the step up.
However, the smart money should go on an external appointment.
Current Northland coach and former Harbour assistant Mark Anscombe will be interested.
Aussie MacLean has not found work since quitting as backs coach of the Hurricanes, while Andre Bell has impressed as an assistant at Wellington and has head coach experience from the Bay of Plenty.
Peter Russell is a coach with real ability, given what he has done with Hawke's Bay, and might feel he's ready for a shift at a bigger union.
It is debatable whether he would see Harbour as a step up but Auckland certainly would be. Both Bell and Russell have the credentials to be taken seriously.
Buck Shelford has said he would be interested in applying for the Auckland job and the opportunity will no doubt smoke out a few other surprise candidates.
Interestingly, Harbour have advertised overseas, an indication they are aware of the dearth of local contenders.
It's a concern that the provinces ranked first and fourth in the competition review are not going to be deluged by suitable coaching candidates.
